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More than one-third of adults combine supplements with prescription drugs
Approximately one in three adults in the United States combine dietary supplement use with prescription medication regimens, and those with doctor-informed medical conditions are 2.5 times more likely to use the two concurrently.
In a cross-sectional, observational study, researchers evaluated a nationally representative cohort consisting of 9,950 noninstitutionalized, civilian adults aged 20 years and older in the United States. The study sample was culled from the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Researchers weighted the data for a complex, multistage, probability sampling design.
The investigators found that about 34.3% of all adults concomitantly used dietary supplements and prescription medication. After adjustment for sex, age, education and household income, concurrent dietary supplements and prescription medication use was found to be significantly higher among those with a doctor-informed medical condition vs. those without a medical condition.
The most common categories of dietary supplements used with a prescription medication, in individuals both with and without doctor-informed medical conditions, included multivitamin plus other ingredients, followed by antacids and multivitamin plus botanical ingredients.
The most common prescription medication agents used with a dietary supplements (in those with a medical condition) were cardiovascular medications. Among those without a medical condition, hormones were the most prevalent prescription medications used with a dietary supplements.
According to the researchers, these findings indicate that the existence of a medical condition may be a risk factor for concurrent dietary supplements and prescription medication use among adults in the United States.
“Multivitamins containing non-vitamin or mineral ingredients are more commonly used than standard multivitamins with prescription medication by US adults,” the researchers wrote. “This may be an emerging trend that warrants further consideration.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.